The only constant is change....
Ditched the half-organic/half-hydro idea, decided to go all in organic. Why wait? 3 seedlings are in their starter fabric cups. The CDLC freebie want's to go go go. First to germ with a long tail < 24h, stretching to the light already. Going to run all 7g pots.
Was going to try and run with a dry(ish) plain top -- but fuck it. All in. Clover seeds that I can till in for the next run, straw top, MBP. Going to skip predators for now and inoculate with some beauveria bassiana, coupled with 2x week BTi. Open tops and fans should mitigate some of the top moisture, while a midweek light top water with aloe/bti should keep it just moist enough. One/week I'll hit it with microbes and food down the road. I think I'll toss some red wigglers in there too. All in baby.
This weekend I'll fill the buckets, spin up the room and get everything up to temp. Drop the clover seeds and get 'em goin.
Short term goal with organics is plain automated well water, no ph'ing, no 2-3-27 part mixes. That part is done. The ultimate goal would be to create your own soils/composts.
Things I have to think about/decide now.
- Composting. Not sure I want a full composting bin. Indoor worm composting is an option. Looking at bokashi, both as a food source and as composting rocket fuel. If I do end up composting via bokashi, it would most likely be to feed the worms. I guess I could bury it indoors, but dunno. Seems almost too simple.
- Teas -vs- Top dressing. I'm thinking that I might not be top watering enough to get the full benefit of top dressed feeds. Perhaps some alfalfa/kelp pre-brewed before adding AACT components. Not sure yet. The thought of banana tea or melon teas are... appealingGoing to see if I have enough PVC laying around to make a 5g airlift brewer instead of the crappy airstones I have now.
- Intermediate pot -vs- direct plant. I have 3 already in intermediate fabric pots, but after I get the room running I may just skip that part and plant the rapid rooter directly. Next run, I might try skipping the rapid rooter all together. Soak overnight or so, then direct into living soil. Or move germ to big tent. Small tent is too environmentally swingy in the winter once they leave the germ dome.
Anybody have any experience growing vegetables in the same tent (not the same container)? Something that responds well to 20/4 light and does not attract pests? The signal/noise ratio when searching that is quite high. Thinking about maybe growing some spinach or something in the EB Jr's along side the canna. That can also be worm/bokashi food.
Will take a few pics before and during transplant. I think when using Rootmakers you want to grow them for 7 days minimum, to establish a good root system. I could have transplanted these on day 7, but not the next ones...some strains may need 10 days minimum. The thing we want to avoid is late transplanting. Day 12 is the latest I prefer to go before transplanting. Day 10-12 seems to be the average for optimal root development and upward growth. These Magic Cookies are faster than average IMO, day 9 transplant. You want to get them to the Kis soil once ready, and they dont slow down as much. You want to avoid any delays, even minor. BTW, I have 2 Roc it Fuel seeds soaking. This will be my side by side experiment. Directly planted vs Rootmaker. I have now done 5 Rootmakers in a Row, so we will have plenty to compare. Peace, slow
I am doing a side by side with the new Roc it Fuel seeds currently soaking. Will tske pics of both to compare. Peacex slow
Yeah, I actually went a little too heavy with hand watering the 2 Rootmakers the night before I transplanted. I didnt have my sprsy bottle in the room and used the gal jug to top water. Its so much harder to over water with a spray bottle and Syringe/baster. Too much water 1 time will effect root development for days at this stage of life. I directly planted the 2 Roc it Fuel seeds and used the spray bottle to moisten the Starter Soil Pocket. The pocket of Soil is not very big, I wish I had more Starter soil last night. But the seeds had nice tails and needed to be planted. I could have backed off and waited til Lowes opened today, but the seeds sank to the bottom of the cup and I dont want them like that for too long. So I figured the small pocket will be enough, and they will do fine. The 2 Rootmakers on day 8 now have a little Kis Soil mixed into the bottom layer. They have really tsken off the past 2 days. Seems like both sets of Rootmakers took off around day 6. We will see if the Kis Soil mixed in does anything, these 2 ROC IT FUEL seeds will go to day 12 before transplanting. Day 9 is the fastest I would go. I think the extra 3 or 4 days in Rootmakers will make a difference in the Root growth moreso than the plant itself, and that is kinda the point in starting them in Rootmakers. There is a fine line, you dont want them to get Hungry before the transplant. That is why I am trying a little Kis soil on these 2, to see how they do with it mixed in thw bottom layer. I will NEVER start my seeds in a CUP ever again. The last 1 I started got hungry before the trsnsplant from lack of soil. That combined with even minor rootbinding will effect the growth of the plant, and it did for surely. The Directly planted plant is 3x as big and the same age. This is why I CRINGE when I see the Buried Solo Cup/Zero Transplant technique so oftently used on this site. Roots want to grow in any direction they can to seek moisture. Trapping the roots in a cup and buring the cup is only a good technique if you are purposely trying to maintain a smaller plant. Otherwise it makes zero sense, especially with Soil. Plants in Coco can grow without the same Rootbounding effects as soil. The difference between starting in a 5oz cup of Organic starter Mix and a Rootmaker is significant. The 5oz cup needs to be transplanted by day 7ish, otherwise Hunger or Rootbounding will set in. Frankly its not worth wasting time and I will never promote using a cup of soil to start seeds ever. Peacex slow
